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Pools confirmed for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 #RWC7s

The pools for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 to be held in Moscow in late June have been confirmed.

All Blacks Sevens draw Canada, United States and Georgia

New Zealand Women’s Sevens draw Canada, Netherlands and Tunisia

The All Blacks Sevens have been drawn in Pool D and will play Canada, United States and Georgia.

The New Zealand Women’s Sevens have been drawn in Pool A and will play Canada, Netherlands and Tunisia.

All Blacks Sevens Coach Gordon Tietjens said: “Sevens is getting more competitive each year so we take nothing for granted. We have seen the United States and Canada do pretty well at times in the IRB HSBC Sevens World Series so we know what they are capable of.

“Unlike the World Series, you only get one chance every four years to win the World Cup so it will be a high pressure event with no room for poor performance.

“We haven’t won the World Cup since 2001 so we are really determined to do well. The tournament is also important for us in terms of building for the Rio Olympics in 2016 so there will be no shortage of incentives to play well.

“We’re also really looking forward to Moscow where the team has never played.”

The All Blacks Sevens World Cup team will be named in early June.

New Zealand Women’s Sevens Coach Sean Horan said: “We’re pretty happy with our pool. You can never discount any team in an international competition as we expect everyone to be bringing their best to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013.

"We want to be competitive against all teams in our pool, in particular Netherlands and Canada, and we’re really excited about competing in Moscow later this year.”

The tournament takes place from June 28 to 30 with 24 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams competing. The final will be staged at the 80,000-seat Luzhniki Olympic stadium.